HomeInvesting “if We Force The Cannabis Industry Into The Capitalist Mode Of Agribusiness,” He Says, “this Is The Logical Transition That’s Going To Occur — The One That Our Politicians And Many People Say They Don’t Want.” To Help Protect Northern California’s Traditional Growers, Krissman Suggests Limiting Farms To One Acre, As Well As Imposing A Government-subsidized Floor Price Of $1,000 Per Pound At The Farm Gate — A Proposal He Realizes Has Little Chance Of Passing Muster In The Current Regulatory Climate.

“if We Force The Cannabis Industry Into The Capitalist Mode Of Agribusiness,” He Says, “this Is The Logical Transition That’s Going To Occur — The One That Our Politicians And Many People Say They Don’t Want.” To Help Protect Northern California’s Traditional Growers, Krissman Suggests Limiting Farms To One Acre, As Well As Imposing A Government-subsidized Floor Price Of $1,000 Per Pound At The Farm Gate — A Proposal He Realizes Has Little Chance Of Passing Muster In The Current Regulatory Climate.

According to Cannabase, a Colorado-based online retail site, the wholesale price for a pound of recreational pot dropped 38 percent in 2016, while medical marijuana fell by 24 percent. A similar phenomenon is happening in Washington State, which legalized recreational cannabis in 2012. As an example of how industrial pot could affect California growers, Krissman points to Harborside, an Oakland-based cannabis dispensary that’s developing a 47-acre farm with 360,000 square feet of greenhouses in Green Rush the Salinas Valley. Jeff Brothers, that company’s chief executive officer, told a reporter this past April: “If we want cannabis to be widely accepted, we need it to be cheap.” That’s an imperative with which Krissman vehemently disagrees. “If we force the cannabis industry into the capitalist mode of agribusiness,” he says, “this is the logical transition that’s going to occur — the one that our politicians and many people say they don’t want.” To help protect Northern California’s traditional growers, Krissman suggests limiting farms to one acre, as well as imposing a government-subsidized floor price of $1,000 per pound at the farm gate — a proposal he realizes has little chance of passing muster in the current regulatory climate. The growing glut of cannabis is already pushing prices to that floor, with no sign it will hold. But if public policy makers really do want rural communities to thrive, Krissman says, then they have to enact laws protecting them. State lawmakers have created a tiered-fee structure, based on the number of plants and size of operation, to help cottage-scale growers survive in the post-legalization landscape. But even that, many say, isn’t enough to help Emerald Triangle growers match the economies of scale enjoyed by larger operations to the south.